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Mexico's Calderón defends his strategy for fighting crime 03-SEP-2010

MEXICO'S CALDERóN DEFENDS HIS STRATEGY FOR FIGHTING CRIME

B&L EN LOS MEDIOS

Dallas Morning News
President Felipe Calderón defended his security strategy Thursday during his fourth state of the union address, calling for "co-responsibility" from all levels of government in the war on organized crime..

Mexico's Calderón defends his strategy for fighting crime

12:00 AM CDT on Friday, September 3, 2010.
By LAUREN VILLAGRAN / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News.

MEXICO CITY – President Felipe Calderón defended his security strategy Thursday during his fourth state of the union address, calling for "co-responsibility" from all levels of government in the war on organized crime.

With two years left in his six-year presidency and with public criticism over his strategy mounting, Calderón highlighted his successes in security but also emphasized that the burden of winning the war is not his alone.

"I know that this problem is what most worries and most hurts Mexicans," Calderón said, speaking from the National Palace in Mexico City's historic center. But the fight against organized crime requires a "more involved citizenry" and "co-responsibility among federal, state and municipal governments."

That last point drew applause from the audience of several hundred people, including governors from the northern states bordering Texas that have been heavily battered by violence.

Co-responsibility is "the new governmental spin regarding the war against drugs and security," said Jorge Buendía, director of Mexico City-based polling firm Buendía y Laredo.

"Calderón has finally decided not to present himself as the only one in charge of the fight against drugs. He wants to share the responsibility with the two other levels of government – and share some blame for the lack of results."

Beyond the stone walls of the 16th-century National Palace, the seat of the federal government, bulletproof SUVs converted a section of the city's famous Zocalo square into a parking lot. And beyond the lot citizens gathered to protest.

"All of this is a lie, a farce – especially in public security," said José Perez, who is unemployed and said he came to voice his discontent.

Calderón, who lauded the economic recovery and called all parties to implement further political reforms, ran through a litany of his government's successes in terms of public security. He included the killing or capture of several cartel leaders such as Texas-born Edgar Valdez Villarreal, nicknamed "La Barbie," who was caught Monday.

The president "is doing what he is supposed to do. He's trying hard, and he's doing the best that he can," said Reynaldo Fernández, who was visiting the capital from Ciudad Juárez.

Many Mexicans are worried about the country's security. A poll published in the Mexico City newspaper Reforma on Wednesday showed Calderón's approval rating falling to 55 percent from 68 percent during the same month a year ago.

"He can say many things because he's in there. But we're out here, and we see things differently," said Carmen Zaragoza, a saleswoman in a jewelry store flanking the Zocalo. "Now every day it's not a matter of if someone was killed, but how many dead are there?"